LaSalle housing construction booms as families hit suburbs

Paul Whited is part of a migration of residents moving from Windsor to some of the smaller, surrounding bedroom communities.

Latest housing start figures once again show a surge in construction activity in LaSalle, Lakeshore and Amherstburg, while the numbers in Windsor are dropping.

• Windsor region sees 70 per cent jump in housing starts compared to March 2016

Work began at 97 new homes last month, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation a 70 per cent increase over March of last year. The trend has been going on for years.

Whited moved from south Windsor three years ago, choosing what he describes as a more family friendly area in LaSalle.

"Our neighbours were a little bit older so their kids were in their 50s and 60s," he said of his Windsor location. "On this street, there's fifteen and sixteen kids under the age of 10 when we moved in. It's nice to have other kids around for them to play with."

LaSalle alone had 28 new homes started last month, largely because the community offers the amenities and services families want, accordingJohn Rauti, a sales representative for J. Rauti Custom Homes.

"You've got the Vollmer complex, you've got the walking trails," he said. "You don't have the hustle and bustle of trucks and traffic, which is nice as well because it makes it a great place to raise your family."

Windsor had 33 new housing starts in March, which is down eight per cent drop from the number recorded in the same month last year.

Ward 3 Coun. Rino Bortolinsays the city needs to set itself apart from the other communities and attract people who prefer a more urban lifestyle.

"The people who want to live in a dynamic urban environment where you have a walk up condo or a townhouse and you can walk down the street to a restaurant, catch a busto go over to Detroit to a Tigers game," he said. "That can all happen in our urban core."